The Smell of Power: Dangerous Allure of Enemies

A Sudden Introduction

Right at the beginning of Saul's reign as Israel's first king, we get this unexpected introduction to his son, Jonathan. We've never heard of him before, and suddenly he's in charge of a thousand soldiers. A military leader. And almost immediately, we're told he attacks a Philistine outpost at Geba.

But here's the thing—that's not quite what the text actually says. It doesn't describe a military maneuver. It describes an assassination. Jonathan doesn't rally troops and storm a base; he takes out a specific person: the commander of the Philistine outpost.

This might feel like a subtle difference, but it changes the whole tone. This isn't an official campaign. It's covert. Strategic. Maybe even personal. And we don't know if Jonathan was sent by Saul or acted on his own, but either way, this isn't just the first shot of a war—it's the spark that lights a narrative.

Rewriting the Story

What happens next is telling. Word spreads: "Saul has attacked the Philistines."

Of course he gets the credit. Kings always do.

But then we read something odd: "Israel had become obnoxious to the Philistines." That word, "obnoxious," is a strange translation. The Hebrew word literally means "smelly." More accurately: noxious, offensive, like garbage.

That might sound like a harsh insult, but it gives us insight into the social dynamics at play. This isn't just about how the Philistines feel. It's about how Israel is being made to feel about themselves.

Who Told You That?

Where does that narrative come from? Where do the Israelites get the idea that they're despised? That they're seen as garbage?

It probably didn't come from heartfelt conversations with Philistine neighbors. No, it seems more likely that this story is being told from the top down. Saul is feeding a message to his people: they hate us, they think we’re less than human. And that's why we struck first.

Is it true? Maybe. We've seen a lot of tension between Israel and the Philistines. But that's not really the point. The point is that Saul is using a story to justify an act of violence. He's framing an assassination as necessary. He's rallying his people around a shared enemy.

And that's a move worth paying attention to.

The Temptation of Enmity

This is Saul's first story as king: an act of violence, followed by a narrative to support it.

They despise us. They hate us. They think we’re garbage.

And maybe that last one sounds a little too familiar, because these kinds of stories still get told today. They hate us for our freedom. They think they're better than us. They want to take what we have.

Anytime someone tells you who the enemy is, before you get the chance to meet them, talk with them, understand them—be skeptical. Anytime a leader needs a war to consolidate their power, be cautious. That kind of leadership is dangerous.

Jesus and the Fire

There's this story in Luke 9 where Jesus and his disciples pass through a Samaritan village. The Samaritans aren't friendly, which makes sense given the long history of tension between Jews and Samaritans. But the disciples take the slight personally. They say, "Hey Jesus, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and wipe them out?"

And Jesus rebukes them.

Not just for the suggestion, but for the story they’ve built in their heads about the Samaritans. That they deserve violence. That they are the enemy.

Someone needed to do that for Saul. To stand up and say: "Maybe they don't hate us. Maybe they're just angry because we killed their leader."

Because once we decide someone is subhuman, once we believe the story that they are garbage, it becomes easy to justify almost anything.

A Better Way Forward

If we want to follow a different path, we need to learn to ask better questions. Who told us that story? What do they gain by convincing us to hate? And might there be another way to understand our neighbor, our so-called enemy?

Jesus seems to think so. Maybe we should too.